The stage of apocalypse
"Centuries ago we were a vast Empire that stretched across half of the entire world. Now look at us: a rag-tag union of fractured states on the verge of defeat. I refuse to allow our Union to be remembered in history as the alliance that was defeated by the pathetic ISAF. On behalf of the entire Kosovik Union I have launched our entire arsenal of nuclear weapons against the ISAF and without a doubt they will retaliate. This is how we will be remembered in history. This is how the world ends." ''- Commander Dima Payovsky broadcasting on an open radio frequency, seconds after he launched the first V1 nuclear missile towards Tegalus, capital of the Rand Protectorate. The stage of apocalypse refers tThe Great Waro a series of significant events that took place during the final days of the Great War. Following the liberation of Calderis from the Kosovik Union, the Independent States Allied Forces under the leadership of the Pan Anean Coalition prepared for a costly invasion of the Kosovik Union at their homeland: Tangera. Before launching the invasion the ISAF called for the surrender of the Kosovik Union which the latter refused. The ISAF considered using nuclear weapons against the Kosoviks but decided not to use them, fearing that the Kosoviks would retaliate in a similar manner which would destroy both factions through mutually assured destruction. The climax of these events took place on January 4th, 2169 BNE when both rebels within Kosovik Union seized control of most of the Union's nuclear facilities and launched a nuclear attack against the ISAF. In retaliation the ISAF launched their own stockpile of nuclear weapons against the Union, targeting major population centers and military installations. As a result 2 billion people were killed in the nuclear exchange alone. The death toll would rise to more than 3 billion people as the effects of nuclear winter took prominence in the aftermath of the nuclear exchange. This is remembered as one of the most important events in the history of Oberon and the UPEO. Background Pacific war By 2171 BNE the war in the Pacific between the Pan Anean Coalition (PAC) and the Far Eastern Empire had entered its eight year. Throughout the last eight years the PAC had been slowly advancing towards Tangera by "island hopping" across the Pacific Ocean on Oberon. Fighting between both sides was fierce as the Empire fought not occupied land, but for its homeland and they were determined to defend it. By February 2070 BNE most if not all of the Empire's outer and inner islands had been captured and the Coalition had completely surrounded the eastern coastline of Tangera. Liberation of Calderis The abrupt liberation that took place on Calderis served to expadite the imminent fall of the Union. Aschen and Anean Union forces routed the last remaining organized elements of the Kosovik occupation force on Calderis. By doing so the ISAF was able to surround Tangera from the west and the east. Debate on the use of WMDs Between April and May of 2070 BNE, ISAF leaders debated whether or not they should use WMDs to expadite the end of the war. The rationale for using WMDs (namely nuclear weapons at the time) against the Kosoviks was that it would bring the war to a quicker end. However ISAF intelligence suggests that the Kosoviks also possessed nuclear weapons which meant that if either side uses them it would provoke the other side to launch their own nuclear weapons which would result in a mutually assured destruction. A scenario where there would be no winner as both sides would effectively destroy each other. It was then concluded that the ISAF would prepare for a conventional invasion of mainland Tangera from the west and east, knowing full well that a conventional invasion would be both costly and difficult to achieve. Within the months leading up to December of 2070 BNE the ISAF prepared for the costly invasion by assembling massive amphibious assault forces from the west on Calderis and from the east on the Pacific Islands. Friction amongst the Kosovik Leadership By July 2070 BNE the Kosoviks had been pushed back from their occupied territories to Tangera: their homeland. Furthermore in the Pacific Ocean, the Far Eastern Empire (which was one of the leading members of the Union) had been fighting a losing war against the PAC as they (the PAC) island hopped towards Tangera, gaining ground and decimating the Empire's naval and aerial assets as they do so. During this time the leadership of the Union debated whether or not to surrender, continue fighting or destroy the ISAF by using their nuclear weapons. The debate was highly controversial as while a majority of the leadership refused to use nuclear weapons opting to continue fighting by conventional weapons, there was a fairly large minority of hardliners who believed that it woudl be better to use nuclear weapons, knowing full well that it would destroy not only the ISAF but also themselves as the ISAF would retaliate. The debate was never fully resolved which divided the Kosovik armed forces into two factions: the larger 'Loyalist' forces and the smaller 'Separatist' forces. No armed conflict however took place between the two factions as the latter cooperated with the former for a period of time until the invasion of Tangera itself took place. Endgame Invasion of Tangera On January 4th, 2169 BNE, after months of preparation the ISAF launched a two-pronged invasion of mainland Tangera. The Kosoviks had been aware of the amassing of ISAF amphibious forces and were more than prepared to resist any amphibious landings. The attack began on 0400 hours which was marked by the shelling of defensive coastal fortifications and defenses that the Kosoviks had. At the same time a large amphibious force began to make their way towards the western and eastern coastlines of mainland Tangera: the invasion of Tangera had begun. Fighting was fierce and was comparable to the landings that took place on Norway, France during the second World War on Earth. Casualties mounted on both sides however the ISAF were able to breakthrough the coastal defenses and established a beach front by 0530 hours. Word of this would not reach the Kosovik leadership until 0700 hours as communications had been jammed by ISAF units at the area. SAM, AA and radar installations were targeted by long range missiles of the ISAF, allowing the ISAF Air Force to launch raids against targets on the mainland. When word finally reached the Kosovik leadership at Cinegrad on 0700 hours the separatist factions panicked and launched a coup against the larger loyalist forces. In the months leading up to the invasion separatist elements had been inserted into V1 launch sites that the Kosoviks had, effectively giving the separatists control over every V1 nuclear missiles that the Kosoviks had. Fighting ensued amongst the Loyalist and Separatist factions with the Loyalists attempting to regain control of the V1 launch sites to prevent a nuclear war from erupting. Unfortunately they were too late as the first V1 nuclear missile had been launched beginning the nuclear war. The way the world ends ''"My fellow Aneans. Today will be the last time I address you, but it will be the first time I represent everyone on this world, not only Anea. As many of you know... tragedy has struck our neighbor... has struck the world. I wish I could tell you that we could prevent the coming destruction. We cannot. Today none of us are strangers. Today, we are one family, stepping into the darkness together. We are a world of many peoples, many beliefs... But I believe that-" cutsoff - The final words of Ruth Charet, President of the Pan Anean Coalition. After the destruction of Tegalus the President attempted ot warn the rest of the world of the impending apocalypse. She was cut short when the second V1 nuclear missile struck and detonated on September City, killing her, a majority of high ranking PAC government officials and the citizens of the city. After the first V1 nuclear missile was launched the rest of the nuclear launch sites followed suit, launching their V1 missiles towards targets in Calderis, North Anea, South Anea, Sanmite and Greeton. ISAF missile command detected the sudden launches and notified the ISAF leadership of the situation. Initially they were stunned as they did not expect that the Kosoviks would dare launch such an attack. However the ISAF leadership finally decided to retaliate and the ISAF launched their Mk.1 nuclear missiles as well towards Tangera. However by the time they retaliated the first V1 had already struck and wiped Tegalus off the face of the planet, killing the 3.5 million inhabitants of the city. The warning came too late for Tegalus preventing government officials from initiating evacuations. After receiving word of Tegalus's destruction President Ruth Charet made an emergency broadcast that was televised across the world in an attempt to warn everyone of the impending calamity. Her speech was disrupted as the second V1 struck September City, killing her along with a great majority of the PAC government as well as the city's 5 million inhabitants. The ISAF leadership then followed up on the President's attempt to warn the planet and advised everyone to seek shelter in any way they can. There were also attempts to evacuate several government officials to bunkers as per contingency plans so that not everyone in the government would be killed. Mass panic ensued amongst the general public as everyone attempted to flee the major cities. Traffic clogged major roads and highways causing gridlocks throughout all cities in the world. There were some who were able to reach government shelters but these were few in numbers. Once they reached their maximum capacity they were locked down, preventing others from entering. Cinegrad: the capital city of the Kosovik Union was the third city to be destroyed during the nuclear exchange. During the next 20 minutes Oberon shone bright amongst in space as nuclear fireballs engulfed the entire planet. Immediate aftermath The immediate effect o f the nuclear exchange was the large quantities of dust and debris that had been thrown up into the atmosphere. It took ten days for just enough of the dust and debris to settle before survivors were able to survive on the surface of the planet without suffocating. The sunlight would remain blocked by the thick cloud of dust for one year and even then only a handful of sun rays were able to penetrate it. Full sunlight would not be able to penetrate the atmosphere for ten years and by then the ecosystems of Oberon had deteriorated to such an extent that it would take a considerable amount of time before the ecosystems of Oberon can fully recover. On the human scale the immediate effects of the nuclear detonations were paramount: there were no emergency or rescue services to rush to their aid as they were all wiped out. The events happened too fast the governments of both factions failed to anticipate the after effects of the nuclear exchange. The survivors had to fend for themselves or to band together into small groups or tribes in order to survive. Astonishingly a handful of ISAF military personnel were left relatively unharmed throughout the duration of the exchange. These were mostly units that were conducting or were in the process of launching the amphibious assault towards Tangera. Those who had already landed were wiped out during the nuclear exchange but those who were still at sea were still well and alive. A third of the ISAF navy was still intact as they were out at sea and not docked at a seaport and were not targeted by the nuclear missiles. The Kosovik military was also more less intact but to a lesser degree when compared to the ISAF. This was because most of the Kosovik military were on the mainland but some that that were stationed at remote areas of the mainland were able to survive. Global communication networks however were down which meant that the surviving ISAF naval ships would not be able to contact their home ports and determine what had happened back on their homelands. Aftermath Environmental destruction of Oberon This is perhaps one of the most significant impacts of the nuclear exchange. Due to significant amount of dust and debris that were thrown up into the atmosphere it took a total of one year for the clouds to settle just so a handful amount of sunlight cna penetrate it. As mentioned before it took a total of ten years for full sungliht to be able to penetrate the atmosphere. A consequence of this was that plant life suffered the most as they required sun light and water for energy. Without the sun light they would die. When a sufficient amount of plant life died small herbivors followed suit, followed by large herbivores and finally the predators. Furthermore marine life in the oceans also suffered. Phytoplankton which required sunlight for energy also began to die causing a break down in the oceanic food chain. The detonation of thousands of nuclear weapons also destabalized the tectonic plates of Oberon. In the years that followed after the nuclear exchange, small tremors and even major earthquakes would become common as the plate tectonics shifted and moved against one and another in an attempt to stabilize themselves again. The land and soil across most of Oberon became infertile as they were polluted from the radiation and the debris that were thrown up. Radiation was rampant throughout a majority of the surface of most continents on Oberon. The radiation would not begin to disappear until 2155 BNE and it was not until 2143 BNE that all traces of radiation caused by the nuclear detonations disappeared. Temperatures plummeted to such a degree that it caused a mini ice-age effect on the planet. Less sunlight meant that less heat could penetrate through the atmosphere to heat the planet. A global cooling effect started to take place. Many animal species were unable to cope with the rapid change in temperature, especially those that lived in previously relatively warm regions across the equator. A large number of these species, already suffering a shortage of food from both plants and prey became extinct within 4 years. Overall at least two thirds of Oberons plant and animal life on the surface became extinct. Approximately forty percent of all marine life in the oceans died as well. Survivors Those who survived the nuclear exchange had to endure the hardest hardship known to humankind: surviving the aftermath and rebuilding. Millions of people who survived the detonations died later on during the following first week due to radiation exposure, lack of food and water, exposure to the elements, caught in the fire storms or even killed by looters. The absence of emergency response elements such as the police and ambulance meant that there was no one else to help the survivors which doubled the death toll of the aftermath. It would not be until the next month when surviving ISAF and Kosovik military forces returned to their homeland and provide a sense of organization and government. Many survivors banded together into small tribes in order to survive. Underground metro networks at cities were transformed into thriving underground communities. Those in the rural areas survived mainly by living off the land and by looting from cities and other rural communities. to be continued...